


Draw 4

by justinsbuzz



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, First Date, Gen, Romantic Fluff, True Love, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, connverse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 15:23:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17789891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justinsbuzz/pseuds/justinsbuzz
Summary: After a challenging game of 'Un', a sore-loosing Peridot tells Steven and Connie that since they've never been on a real romantic date, they're not a legitimate couple. Wanting to prove her wrong, Steven and Connie agree to go on a proper, traditional date. but by doing this, are they doing this for themselves, or just to prove someone wrong?





	Draw 4

**Author's Note:**

> well, after a few nights, a power outage, and playing mindlessly playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey when i should be writing. I finished this. I'm relatively proud of this, and it gae me something to work on to get my mind off the fact that it's Valentines day. This one was a long time in the making, and i hope you enjoy it.

Draw 4

Tears dropped on the coffee table with an audible tap. Steven and Connie sat, hunched over table in silent shock as they know what will be coming next for them.

“Connie.” Steven whimpered. “I-

“Don’t speak, Steven.” Connie interrupted him, tears streaking down her face. “It’s ok, Biscuit. I know.”

“You know? How?” Steven asked through his tears.

“Our hearts and minds. They’ve always been connected ever since we’ve fused.” Connie replied, trying to crack a soft smile. “I know, Steven. I’ve always known.”

Silence still hovered in the thick atmosphere of dread and helplessness. Everything slowly became dark.

“Connie. Connie if you know, then you also have to know that there could be another, no, SHOULD BE another way!” Steven cried out. “I can’t do it!”

“I know, Steven. I wish there was another way. But…” Connie attempted to console Steven. “But, Steven. In life, we’re sometimes dealt a bad hand. Sometimes you have to do something you don’t ever want to do. Something you would consider to be completely unthinkable, is something that is the most likely outcome.”

Steven hung his head low. The amount of tears streaking his face almost makes it look like Blue Diamond was nearby, watching everything that’s going on.

“Steven. You know what you have to do. And it’s ok. Because no matter what, I’ll always love you.” Connie said sweetly, holding onto Steven’s hand. “It’s ok.”

Steven attempted to wipe away most of his tears.

“Connie…I love you.” Steven stuttered before roaring as loud as Lion “I love you and I’m sorry!”

And in one swift motion, an arm swinging down, the sound of a snap, and an anguished cry heard through the house.

Steven, had laid down…. a draw 4 card.

“I’M SORRY CONNIE! I’m so sorry! I had no other choice.” Steve wailed through his sobbing tears. He had never felt this miserable in all of his life. The cards on the table left him no other choice but to play it. This, to him, was worse than giving himself up to Homeworld. Worse than having his gem ripped out of him, worse than being attacked by the corrupt jellyfish from Mask Island, and only marginally as bad as having to fortnight dance with Kevin. Steven could already feel his gem deteriorating, as though it want no more of this deceitful life Steven had chosen for himself.

But in a matter of moments, the sound of another card being placed on the table gave him pause. The table began to slowly vibrate as Steven looked up from his hands to see something remarkable. Connie, who had a couple of tears left on her cheek placed a card down. A twisted and sly grin could only be seen since her eyes were hidden behind her hair. She nefariously threw down a skip card, ultimately negating her from drawing four, and leaving that honor for the next player, Lapis. Lapis seemed to be the only person at the table to show as little interest as possible in the game, chewing on bubble gum and reading manga on a tablet. The next player after her, on the other hand, had a lot to lose in all of this. Peridot could be seen with a fistful of cards, and eyes full of rage.

“A SKIP CARD! How dare you do that you my… um…. roommate! And a member of your own team no less!” Peridot groweled. “I’ll make you pay for this, Connie!”

“Who said I only laid down one card?” Connie said sinisterly as she began to cackle maddeningly. And with a slight movement, she slid the card aside to reveal a second skip card. “I do believe the honor of eating those cards are all yours, you gas lamping guacamole Dorito!”

Lapis looked up from her manga she was reading to see what had happened and still kept chewing on some bubble gum and chuckled at what had just happened.

“Heh, burn.” Lapis said with as little enthusiasm as possible. 

Peridot, all of the sudden threw the table over her head as the cards flew all over the place. The table snapped and broke into a few pieces behind her, only to have those pieces dragged back in front of them by the pebbles and rebuilt better than it was before. The cards were still all over the place, which Peridot ended up having to pick up each and every one. In that moment, Connie receives a text message from her mom, showing a plate of food emoji as well as the words ’10 min.’.

“Oh, dinner’s almost ready. Got to get going. Walk me home Steven?” Connie asked, even though the answer was obvious.

“Yeah, of course.” Steven said drying is eyes with his hands before Connie hands him a small package of tissues. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It was a fun date night. I really liked it.” Connie said smiling. The mood was suddenly negated by Peridot snorting and laughing at the two of them. “You, um, got something to say, appart from ‘I’m sorry for breaking the table and slowly driving Steven insane.’?”

“This was a ‘date night’ for you guys?” Peridot laughed. “That is pathetic.”

“Well, we like it. What’s a date, other than a chance to spend time with someone you really care about and having fun?” Steven asked Peridot. Peridot was amused.

“Steven, please. As someone who’s an expert in all things human and pop culture, I can certifiably say that this was not a date night.” Peridot said professionally “Date nights are about candlelit dinners, and watching romantic movies, and taking horse carriage rides through the park. All this was…was…just a couple of platonic friends just hanging out. Technically, you two are just awkward acquaintances who have no concept of-”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Peri.” Connie said while already about to leave “Come on Steven. let’s get going.”

they were within a block from Connie’s house. It really doesn’t take to long to get there, now that her family moved to Beach City. Walking Connie home while the sun was slowly setting and the stars were barely coming out was possibly one of the best times, they could be alone.

“So how did you know I had that card?” Steven asked Connie, already seeing the lights from the Maheswaran’s windows of their house. “have our minds really been connected all this time?”

“Oh, well, no. I learned to count cards.” Connie said, trying not to brag. “I learned how to do that in a misplaced book in the library. We may have been playing with double decks of Un cards, but the principle mathematics were still the same.”

“You’re awesome, Connie.” Steven said, his pupils were in the shape of stars. “You’re awesome, and smart, and beautiful, and…brave…and”

Steven’s words began to trail off as he thought about how Peridot said that they’re just like awkward acquaintances. Steven had strong feelings for Connie, and he knew she did the same for him. But what if they were wrong? What if they’ve been going about all of this the wrong way. What if that’s all they really were. Steven ended up being so lost in thought that he nearly tripped over a sprinkler head on the Maheswarans’ front lawn, before being caught by Connie, who held him in a dipped position. She lifted Steven back up onto his feet.

“You there Steven?” Connie asked worryingly. “You kind of trailed off after saying I was a lot of things.”

Connie couldn’t help by blush a bit. Steven knew what he had to do now. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He reached for her hand and looked directly into her widened eyes. 

“Connie Maheswaran, will you go out with me?” Steven asked Connie, right at the very moment her mom was in the doorway with a full trash bag. Both Steven and Connie looked at Priyanka as though they were about to be hit by a train. This was possibly the most embarrassing moment in recent history for the both, if not all three, of them. The silence was broken when Dr. Maheswaran broke out laughing. This did not make things better for anyone. Nor was what she said next.

“Well Connie, answer the boy.” Priyanka said, trying to breathe from laughing so hard. Connie drew a deep sigh.

“Steven, you know we’ve been dating, right. We, were just doing that moments ago.” Connie said awkwardly. Stevens’ star came back into his eyes.

“I mean a real date. A traditional date. Flowers, candles, horses, whatever. I want to show you how you make me feel. I want to make you feel special.” Steven said. Peridot really drive than nail pretty deep into Stevens’ mind. And he might not have been the only victim of Peridot’s weird view of the world. 

“You know. Yes. A traditional date. And if we’re going to be traditional about this.” Connie started turning to her mom, who was slowly calming down from laughing so hard. “Mom, Can I go out with Steven this weekend?”

Priyanka wiped away a tear and sighed. Figuring that this was going to be something strange, she decided to play along.

“I’ll allow it, but only if this….Universe fellow is willing to prove he is worthy of courting my daughter at the end of this week.” Priyanka said, sounding as horribly staunch as possible. Beach City had finally broken her brain. “Mr. Universe, If you are serious about this, then I demand you take up the charge of delivering a large satchel of refuse over yonder to the edge of this property.”

Steven looked humerously clueless, to which Priyanka broke character.

“Take the trash out and you can.” Priyanka said in a monotone voice and handing Steven the trash bag, to which Steven picked up and stood upright.

“I will not let you down.” Steven declared. Priyanka looked at Connie with a lifted eyebrow.

“Alright, see you this weekend. Don’t die taking out the trash.” Priyanka said, walking back into the house.

“Yeah. Goodnight Steven.” Connie said walking into the house.

“Goodnight Connie.” Steven replied.

“Goodnight.” Connie said again.

“Goodnight.” Steven replied again. This went on a couple of times as Steven was walking backwards, and saying goodnight to Connie repeatedly, not seeing the sprinkler head that nearly dripped him before which had now done the job the second time around. Steven stumbled backwards, but didn’t land too hard.

“WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT NOT DYING, STEVEN!” Priyanka yelled from inside the house, peering through the front door.

\---------------------------------------

A few days went by, and apart from a few relatively nervous test messages, and trying to get reservations lined up, and the constant feeling of walking around of legs and stomach made of gelatin and pop-rocks, things seemed relatively normal. Steven had never felt this stressed out before. Even when it came to planning Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding, that was easier going than going out on an official date. For the past couple of nights, Steven stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, wondering of all the ways things are going to go wrong. It was only out of sheer luck that Steven got some amount of sleep by the weekend. And during the day time, Steven couldn’t help but feel like Peridot was trying to spy on him. Observing and jotting things down for reasons unknown. Almost everything was planned down to the wire. All that remains is to mentally survive until 5 P.M. Saturday.

Steven had worn the same suit he wore for Garnets’ wedding, as he stood out front of the door, holding a single rose, and waiting for someone to open. He stood there for over 5 minutes before realizing that he hadn’t even knocked on the door yet. But he also saw the door bell, and his brain went into a tailspin of deciding if he should knock on the door, or ring the doorbell. Knock, or ring. Knock or ring. The answer was made up for him when the door cracked open, showing Priyanka’s’ eye.

“You’ve been standing there for 6 minutes and doing nothing.” Priyanka said flatly. This startled Steven somewhat. “we’re you going to knock, or just…what?”

Steven was confused.

“Um, sorry ma’am. I wasn’t sure if I should knock or”

“Ring?” Priyanka finished his sentence for him. “Usually best to ring if it’s a blind date or one of the first few dates, and knock if it’s a second date, or a first date with someone you know well. Hasn’t Greg talked to you about this?”

“Well.” Steven began as Priyanka snaked out of the front door to talk to Steven. “we tried to talk about it, but it wasn’t going anywhere. My dad said he’s been out of the game for so long, he couldn’t give me any other advice apart from being myself and have fun.”

Priyanka rubbed her chin.

“Yeah. That sounds like Greg. True blue…. most of the time.” Priyanka said, somewhat also referring to the Prior Crab Shack incident a few years ago.

“That was all me. Well, mostly.” Steven replied. “Actually…never mind. Just nervous.”

“Don’t be. In all honesty, all of this seems kind of strange for you two. In reality, I’ve kind of thought you two had been dating a little before Garnet’s wedding.” Priyanka said. "either way, take Gregs’ advice and just relax, be yourself, have fun, and try not to get weirded out by what’s going on inside here.”

“Yeah, I know- wait, why would I be weirded out?” Steven asked. Priyanka gave a short sigh.

“Well, I thought you and Connie were dating for a while now. Doug on the other hand had been in denial for some time.” Priyanka said, looking back at the door. “But now that it’s sinking in, he’s kind of…gone…insane.”

“Insane?” Steven asked worryingly.

“Ok, that’s probably the wrong word for it.” Priyanka said, trying to backtrack her statement, and looking really guilty. “You see, Doug and Connie always had somewhat of a better connection than she and I did when she was growing up. It almost seemed like she liked doug more…but that was then. Things are good. But Doug still sees Connie as a little girl. It hasn’t clicked yet until now. He never liked big changes.”

“How bad…should we cancel?” Steven asked, feeling worse by the second.

“No. No, no, no, no. You don’t need to do that Steven. the monster’s loose and he’s sitting in the living room, looking like an intimidating father.” Priyanka said with a cringed look on her face. “Just trust me Steven. Roll with the punches. Go with the flow, and if he asks what your current business prospects are, just say you’re in the Security Sector, or something that pays big. Let’s just get in there and get this dinner theater thing over with.”

Steven and Priyanka walked through the front door and into the foyer, leading into the living room area where Doug was sitting in one of the larger chairs, reading a newspaper.

“Steven, why don’t you have a seat in here while I go check up on Connie. Maybe give her a pep talk.” Priyanka said, going down one of the hallways into the bedroom areas.

Steven sat down on the couch, sitting as far away from the eerily quiet Doug, who hasn’t turned a page, or even acknowledging that Steven was there. Normally, they’re always on good standing with each other. But this was very unusual. They sat there, quietly. Sometimes the newspaper would ruffle around, but it was mostly silence. But out of nowhere, Doug began to speak.

“So. Mr…Universe is it?” Doug asked, knowing full well what the answer was. He folded the newspaper to show he was holding a bubble blowing toy in the shape of an old smoking pipe. Why would he have something like this, Steven wondered to himself. “Tell me, why are you here?”

“Um. Just picking up Connie for” Steven stopped himself from saying the ‘date’ word, being cautious of mentioning anything about it. “for dinner. Maybe a movie.” 

Doug’s eyes narrowed at Steven. It seemed that it didn’t matter if Steven had mentioned the date, it would have illicit the same cold reaction.

“A dinner…and a movie, you say. And then what?” Doug asked, blowing bubbles out of the old toy pipe. He was laying out a minefield in this conversation, and Steven was bouncing on a pogo stick.

“Well, maybe movie then dinner? Then drop her off before 8:30.” Steven said nervously. This was not the best answer Steven could come up with, since Doug scoffed at him.

“Mr. Universe, I did not ask about tonight’s engagement. I asked about your intentions with my daughter.” Doug spoke. “And since you cannot decide whether to go to a dinner or a movie first seems to tell me that you have no idea about the future.” 

Doug really seemed like he had gone out of his mind, or just mostly out of character. Steven could only feel sorry for him. Empathetically, if Steven was in his place, and his kid was about to go on a date, they would probably want the best for them. If this is what it was turning towards, then Steven might as well play along. 

“Why good sir, it was only a minor sense of nervousness. We were going to be going to the theater then a quiet dinner at Chez Crab Shack to talk about the movie as well as other sundry conversations.” Steve told Doug, trying to sound as much of a 19-century character as possible. “I have also checked in with her physician to make sure she was not allergic to shellfish or any other medical illness. So, rest assured she, and any intentions I have, would be safe and sound.”

A Large plume of bubbles strung out of Doug’s pipe as his eyebrows had risen as far as it could go. Steven seems to have matched his brand of polite insanity with Doug. If he could charm a Giant demigod into not being so terrible and accepting people for who they are, then Doug could be almost as easy. Steven heard footsteps coming down the hall, it was Priyanka with Connie in tow, wearing a lime green puffy dress, almost like Sapphires. She did not look please. Priyanka saw a very surprised Doug, lost in thought, giving Steven and Connie the perfect chance to escape.

“OK. So, have her back home by 8, sharp. Don’t be a millisecond late.” Priyanka said, looking at a braindead Doug while gesturing Steven to get out of there as fast as possible. She escorted Steven and Connie to the front door. Priyanka knelt down and whispered to them. “I put the original dress you picked out in a bag near the bushes. Get changed over at Stevens house. And instead of 8, be back by 9. I’ll have taken care of Doug by then. He conks out after a few slices of turkey.”

Priyanka looked at them both and smile. 

“Just have fun, be safe, and be yourselves.” She said giving an embarrassed Connie a kiss on the cheek. She then walked back into the house and closed the door. Before Steven could say anything, he felt Connie grab his hand and lead him around the side of the house and out front of a shed in the back.

“Wait here.” Connie said curtly. She apparently had grabbed the bag and quickly ran into the shed. Steven waited a few minutes before Connie walked out. She wore a blue dress and a red shawl. This was a lot better than the puffy dress before. “Well? Thoughts?”

Steven was stunned. This was possibly the best thing she’s ever worn. Better than the blue skirt she wore on Homeworld. Connie was waiting for a response, eyebrows raised.

“what do you think?” Steven croaked, trying to find the words he would use. Connie was surprised to hear that Steven would want to know what she thought, and not say what he was thinking. Or maybe that’s what he was thinking in the first place.

“Personally, I like it. I’ve thought that this would have been a better thing to wear to a formal date than whatever that dress was.” Connie said, looking down at herself. “But what do you think?”

“I really love it, but your feelings matter more.” Steven said more confidently. “How you feel is always better than how you look on the outside.” 

Connie blushed and smiled. Steven always knew what to say to make her feel better.

“Thanks. You look great yourself.” Connie said. “So, what the game plan for tonight?”

“Um, I was thinking dinner than a movie, or movie than a dinner.” Steven said nervously, his mind drawn back to the conversation he was having in Doug during his ‘midlife crisis in progress’. “Honestly since I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Steven and Connie walked in silence as they made their way to the front yard. Once there, Connie spoke up.

“Crab Shack?” She asked.

“Crab Shack.” Steven replied.

“Ok, cool. Um, where’s Lion?” Connie asked, looking around. It dawned on Steven that the Crab Shack was all the way across town, and he wasn’t the most reliable form of transportation. Steven began to panic, and Connie noticed this. She went into full knight mode “It’s ok, I think I know how to get him.”

Connie whistled as loud as she could, knowing that Lion could hear that sound across the town. But lion never came.

“I’m sorry Connie. I didn’t think about how we could get there.” She said, grabbing Steven’s hand to reassure him that it really was ok. “It’s not that far of a walk. I won’t be wearing these shoes if we’re walking, but it’s ok.”

Steven really admired how Connie is trying to fix things, like usual. He loved she could do that, or at least try to, but at the same time, he felt helpless. He could already hear peridots voice, saying ‘Smooth move. Some knight and shining armor you are. Having your date walk across town barefoot. You’re a real character Steven. a real, how could I put this, a real ‘Kevin’.’ Steven pushed those throughts away and sighed. And suddenly, an idea came to mind.

“I could, maybe, give you a lift.” Steven said awkwardly. “I could carry you?”

Connie was surprised and humored at this proposal.

“Well, it’s a long walk. You don’t have to.” Connie said, trying her best not to take the offer right off the bat.

“No, I insist. You don’t have to walk barefoot across town. I could carry you there.” Steven said. “Almost all the time, you’re my knight. But tonight, let me be your knight.”

Connie was flattered. Without hesitation, she went around Steven and jumped on his back, wrapping her legs around Steven.

“Now onward, my trusty ste…. ven!” She said epically. Steven neighed and began to attempt to gallop down the street for a moment before realizing how many times he could accidentally trip and fall over. Steven turned the corner and walked down the street, trying to carry on a conversation about what to do tonight, between watching a romantic movie, and a candle lit dinner. But after every block, he began to have his doubts. The more they talked about it, the weirder, and more strange things had gotten. Both he and Connie began to know that. Within a block from the restaurant, Steven stopped. They were quiet for a few moments before Connie spoke up.

“Um, Steven. everything ok? You just kind of stopped. We’re almost there.” Connie asked.

“What…what are we doing?” Steven asked in a somewhat low tone. “I did it again.”

“We…what did you do again?” Connie asked.

“I gave in again. Back when we raced Kevin, I wanted to put him in his place. And now I’m doing it again with Peridot.” Steven said, kneeling to let Connie down. “I guess I just wanted to be romantic like we’re suppose to be. Romantic dates and candle lit dinners. I mean, we love each other. And we’re a couple…aren’t we?”

Connie looked concerned as to what Steven was thinking. Steven was definitely gas lamped by Peridot. And she needs to leave Steven alone. For now, though, one step at a time.

“Well, Steven.” Connie started, looking at her bare feet and still holding her shoes. “I think we’re a couple. We love each other. We’re there for each other. Honestly, we have a better relationship than Peridot and Lapis. I mean, they’re still in denial about what had happened with Lapis leaving. And no matter what problems we come across, we come across them together.”

Connie then walked up to Steven, put her hands on his shoulders and kissed his forehead. Steven, without thinking, put his hands-on Connie’s’ waist. At some point between Mask Island, and her birthday, she was back to being taller than Steven. again.

“Steven, our brand of romance isn’t Peridots, or like any other.” Connie said, looking deeply into Stevens eyes. “I mean, I would take beating Peridot at ‘Un’, having jam sessions, training, fighting gem mutants, or just having fun with you over a stuffy dinner-a-movie style dating. I mean, that’s romantic, right?”

Steven was stunned by this realization.

“You…you’re right, Connie. We’re not stuffy, we’re goofy. And what would Peridot know about romance?” Steven said in a surprised tone. “I mean, she may have been on earth for a while, but she gets most of her info from manga and soap operas. Every morning for a month, she always woke up, dresses up in a sailor school-girl uniform, and runs around town with toast in her mouth thinking that’s how humans start their day.”

Connie snorted loudly.

“Really? She did that?!” Connie asked loudly. “please tell me that never happened.”

“It did. For a month. She would run around, muttering that she’s late for school.” Steven chuckled. “She’s never been inside a classroom.”

Connie laughed loudly.

“Oh, jeez. What are we doing?” She asked.

“Well, before” Steven began, looking down at their feet, his hands still on Connie’s waist. “We were trying to be something we’re not. But right now, we’re being who we truly are.”

Connie had a large smile on her face.

“We are. No more stuffiness, let’s embrace our goofiness.” Connie said. “But I mean, right now. Do we still go to dinner? Do a movie?”

Steven thought about this for a moment, but came up with a great idea.

“I think I have something in mind.” Steven said, slipping off his shoes and socks.

“Really? Wha” Connie was cut off at that moment when Steven went in for a surprising kiss that Connie didn’t see coming. She thought that this was just like Mask Island all over again, but the other way around. It was a nice surprise as the light enveloped the two. They formed Stevonnie, who was wearing a blue tunic, suit pants, and a shawl around their shoulders.

“Whoa! That was very untraditional. You’re suppose to wait till AFTER the date to do that!” Stevonnie told themselves. “But I couldn’t help it. Plus, it was a definite surefire way for us to fuse. I’m…no, it’s ok. Spontaneity isn’t that bad of a thing. Just, surprising that happened. So, I forgive you. For now. But wow, don’t we clean up nicely or what?”

Stevonnie giggled to themselves, looked up at the crab’s hack, and then nearby, they saw the top of the roller-coaster over at Funland. Stevonnie then rose their hands up you eye level like hand puppets and began to speak out of the side of their mouth, trying to sound like Steven and Connie.

“’Hey Connie?’” Stevonnie asked herself in a cartoon voice. “’How bout we go over to Funland instead of that stuffy restaurant over there? That’s a great idea, Steven! Corn-dogs before Crabs! Let’s ride everything until we’re too dizzy to even move! I really like the sound of that Connie!’ I’m a modern day Casanova fusion, and a genius!”

Stevonnie laughed to themselves and made their way towards Funland. There they only paid admission for one person, and ended up bumping in to Sadie and Lars, as well as her other band-mates, which they decide to hang out with, telling them they’re on a date. Looking somewhat clueless for a second, they ended up understanding what was going on, since they knew who Stevonnie really was. When they got over to the concession stand, they ate for two. Specifically, a corn-dog wrapped in a funnel cake. The first one was so good, they went for another. And like the geniuses they are, they made a beeline towards the roller coaster after being stuffed with fried food. 

“This is for that surprise kiss from earlier, Steven.” Stevonnie told themselves with a large goofy grin on their faces.  
After riding the roller coaster twice, and with the last amount of equilibrium they had left. They went towards the spinning gravitron. 

“And THIS is for not doing it sooner!” They yelled out loud as they were spinning at breakneck speed, while their hair was whipping against Lars’s bright red zombie face.

After doing that, Jenny ended up holding Stevonnie’s hair back while they were hunched over a trashcan, trying their best not to get anything on themselves. After cleaning up. Stevonnie made their way towards the ring toss game. They ended up winning every single prize they had there, and, save for a medium stuffed bear, began doling out all of the prizes they won to Sadie, Lars, and the gang, as well as random passerby’s and couples. As the sun went down, Lars, Sadie, and the gang went their separate ways to give Stevonnie some alone time as they leaned up against the railing, watching the sunset on the pier. They had their arms wrapped around the teddy bear they won, squeezed it tightly and sighed.

By the time Stevonnie made their way back to Connie’s house, the streetlights were already on. Seeing as though they left behind their cellphones, they had no idea what time it was. And passively, they didn’t care. They walked casually enough to spend as much time as they could with each other as they are. The entire date felt incredible, as though they were hugging each other the entire time. They were never alone, not even for a moment.

When they got in front of the house, they graciously unfused, without falling to the ground. Connie was still holding on to the teddy bear, while Steven had Connie’s red shawl around his neck.

“Well.” Steven said.

“Well.” Connie said as well.

“Did you have fun?” They asked each other at the same time. “Yeah, I did.”

They both chuckled at the same time before looking down to see they’ve lost their shoes somewhere.

“Oh no!” Steven exclaimed. “Connie I’m-”

“It’s alright, Steven.” Connie said, cutting Steven off and reassuring him. “If anyone asks, they’re lost in my closet somewhere. But what about you?” 

“I’m…I’ll be alright. Those things were killing me anyway.” Steven said smiling. He noticed that he had Connie’s shawl around his neck. He attempted to take it off and give it to Connie, but Connie refused.

“No, you keep it.” She smiled. “I already got my souvenir. You should have one too. It looks nice on you.”

“Really?” Steven asked, looking surprised. “thank you.”

The crickets were chirping in the night as they stood there awkwardly.

“Well, goodnight.” Steven said, almost starting to walking backwards, but was stopped by Connie.

“Wait.” Connie said walking up to Steven. She then held Stevens' hands, and kissed him slowly. They successfully didn’t fuse.

“OK. Now, goodnight.” Connie told Steven, keeping up with breaking tradition.

“Goodnight. I love you, Connie.” Steven said, slowly slipping his hands away from Connie.

“I love you too, Steven.” Connie grinned, always glad to hear Steven say that. “Goodnight.”

Connie walked through the door, looking at the clock on the wall that showed it was 9:15. She knew she was grounded, but it was worth it. The light in the living room was still on, and she knew there was no point sneaking by. She walked into the living room to see her mom, working on a sudoku book with a cup of warm tea right next to her on an end table near her.

“Hi mom.” Connie said quietly. Priyanka looked up, showing she had reading glasses on. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Priyanka smiled

“It’s OK. You aren’t too late. Besides, I’d be more worried if you came home early than a little late.” She said, putting aside her glasses and taking a sip of her tea. “It means you had fun, but we’re also safe for not being out for too long. Both of those things were what I said.”

“So…am I grounded? Where’s dad?” Connie looked around the room.

“He’s asleep. Conked out after eating two servings of turkey breast, while crying.” Priyanka said, looking somewhat remorseful. “And you’re not grounded. Nice teddy bear by the way. Steven got you that?”

“Oh, yeah. He did. We didn’t go to dinner and a movie. Mostly hung out at Funland. As Stevonnie. Kind of a two-for-one admission thing.” Connie replied. She hugged her bear and looked somewhat worried “Is dad…is he going to be ok?”

“Yeah, he will be. We knew you were going to be dating, but I guess he wasn’t prepared for it so soon.” Priyanka sighed “Parenting can make time go by fast. But he’ll be ok. He’s not going to lose his baby girl.” 

“Neither will you, mom.” Connie said, reassuring her that she cares a lot about her as well. “I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie. Goodnight” Priyanka said with a broad smile on her face.

At the same time, Steven walked into his house to see that most of the gems were still up.

“Steven! Do you know what time it is?!” Pearl cried out loud. “We were worried sick!”

Steven looked at the kitchen clock to see it was 9:20. There’s goes another 1000 years without TV, Steven thought to himself.

“Relax guys, He’s back. Plus, the fact he was late means he had fun.” Amethyst said, coming to his defense like the big sister she was. “Besides, he may have lost those weird shoes of his, but he won a really cool looking handkerchief. Kind of large though. Must me meant for Stevonnie.”

“I’m really sorry, Pearl.” Steven said remorsefully. “Time, it just kind of gotten away from us. I’m really sorry for making you guys worry.”

“It’s ok Steven. How was Funland?” Garnet said, sitting on the couch with her feet on the table. “I know what happened, but maybe fill everyone else in?”

“I knew you couldn’t pull off a romantic evening, but I need the dets, Steven!” Peridot said, being spun around on the bar-stool at the kitchen counter by Lapis. “And it’s definitely not because I need material.” 

Steven was too tired to say anything.

“I’ll tell you guys tomorrow. For now, though, I need to get off my feet.” Steven said as he climbed up the steps. “Goodnight everyone. I love you.”

Everyone was surprised to hear Steven say that, and respected his wishes.

Across town, Connie had gotten dressed, crawled into bed, and was squeezing her newly prized teddy bear. She finally got one of her own. 

“Goodnight, Steven.” She sighed to herself and closing her eyes.

Back at Steven’s house. Steven crawled into bed, still wearing his suit, and wearing Connie’s shawl around his shoulders. The lights were off, but he was watching cartoons. Steven ran his hands over the silky red shawl, and ultimately deeply smelled it. It still smelled like Connie, a faint aroma of lavender. This warmed Steven’s heart. He gave one last sniff and sighed.

“Goodnight, Connie.” Steven said closing his eyed, knowing Connie said the same thing. Their hearts really were connected, even when they’re apart.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure what else there is to say. what do you think?


End file.
